In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Malala praised Fahma’s campaign, and joined her in calling for better education in schools about FGM. “I’ve watched every step of Fahma’s campaign and I think she is on the edge of something huge,” she said. “Over 140 million girls and women are mutilated – but like keeping girls out of school in Pakistan, we can come out together and be strong and change things for the next generation. I am her sister and I am at her side and I want her to be listened to I as I was.”

The British Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has agreed to meet 17-year-old student Fahma Mohamed, following a Guardian-backed petition demanding action to end to female genital mutilation that has attracted 170,000 signatures since launching last week.

The number of women and teenage girls in England and Wales who are victims of female genital mutilation has increased threefold to 170,000 over the past decade because of the influx of migrants from countries where the practice is widespread.